Weirdly intimidated by heavy kettlebells...

Well not super heavy ones... just ones 16kg and over.

Not sure if I can explain it... but I feel sort of reluctant to use kettlebells over 12kg (although I used a 16kg one for awhile today) (btw I do CrossFit). The recommended weight for women is usually 20kg... and I just can NOT see myself ever swinging a 20kg kettlebell!

However, I'm not intimidated by using a 20kg bar and lifting it above my head... just the kettlebell. It's weird.

Any advice??! (I feel like a kettlebell phobic :P).

The stupid thing is, I used 12kg kettlebells my very first session (almost 3 months ago), and I've gone up in all my other weights... but really just feel nervous at trying heavier kettlebells. It's stupid...

Remember the kettlebell swing is a great exercise, but you need to safely challenge yourself. You are paying a lot for crossfit, get your money's worth! I swing the 20k one handed and the 22k 2 handed.

Thanks for the advice . I think I'll try and take it one step at a time and not even look at that scary 20kg one for awhile yet! I need to get comfortable with the good old 16... (and rely on the trusty 12 when I need it!!).

I've had the same mental block. Grab a heavier kettlebell for a WOD and use it as long as you can, then switch to a lighter kettlebell. Also, your grip might be the issue, so chalk your hands so the sweat doen't affect it.

wow, I feel kind of weak now haha. 20kg is recommended for women? I use 12 kg for 2 armed swings and sumo deadlift high pulls, and 10 kg for one-armed swings. I even go as low as 8 if we're doing minute rounds (so really high reps).

Since you do crossfit you're probably doing American swings, completely vertical lockout. To become more comfortable with heavier weights stay after the wod and do a few sets of Russian swings with 1 pood/1.5 pood. These you only have to swing them parallel with the ground, about as high as your eyes. My gym just got a 100lber and I can tell you it's helped me get way more comfortable with the 2 pood weight for WODs.